Canonization of Saint Oscar Romero

In a ceremony in Rome today, Pope Francis canonized Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, along with Pope Paul VI, and five other saints. The event was attended by as many as 70,000 of the faithful in St. Peter's Square, and was watched by tens of thousands of Salvadorans gathered outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador and at Divina Providencia, the chapel where Romero was assassinated.

We conclude with words from Saint Romero, less than a year before his martyrdom:

I am glad, brothers and sisters,
that our church is persecuted
precisely for its preferential option for the poor
and for trying to become incarnate
in the interest of the poor
and for saying to all the people,
to rulers,
to the rich and powerful:
unless you become poor,
unless you have a concern
for the poverty of our people
as though they were your own family,
you will not be able to save society.
JULY 15, 1979